… try to organize the chaos.
What does one very obsessive and anxiety-ridden individual do when told you have about two months to move cross-country? Get organized. Well, get stressed and then get organized. I’ve moved quite often, but the thought of getting the hubby + me + Millie + Boomer to Washington state right before or during the holiday season coupled with the threat of traveling in snow is overwhelming to say the least. I started doing research, asking Google things like: “Where to start when doing a PCS?” and “How to PCS.”
Several people suggested completing a home inventory and photographing items in your home. There were several recommendations from fellow organization-freaks to create a “moving binder” to keep everything related to the move in one place. Plus it makes sense to have everything in one (neat) place for the car. So, that is where I started.
Home Inventory. I did a little more research on exactly what to inventory because I was not about to start counting socks and underwear From what I read for military moves (and insurance proposes – heaven forbid anything happen) you should inventory anything that would cost more than $20 to replace or anything that is antique/heirloom. My spreadsheet includes the follow: item, manufacturer location where purchased, date purchased (usually I only know the year), value/cost to replace and serial number. I also made a column to note if the item was a wedding gift since we got married this year. I usually can’t fill in all the information, but anything is better than nothing. After I inventory the necessary items, I am taking pictures of everything (not individually; just opening closet doors and snapping a pic). I am going room by room because it actually is taking me longer than I thought it would. Once this is complete, I will print it out and keep it in the moving binder.
Moving binder. “I don’t care if you go to work and tell all your friends about your wife’s dumb “Washington binder”, but it makes me feel better!!!” I think that is how our conversation went last night when I showed my hubby the moving binder. Then I reminded him about just the crap the dogs alone require to make the trip and suddenly my binder started getting some love. Right now there isn’t much in there at all, but I am sure it will be full in no time.
Have ONE place where ALL receipts related to the move go. I learned this from our last move when I was digging in the depths of my purse for receipts. I got this zipper pocket for the binder where we will keep them.
Never ending check list I complied from several lists online. A lot of it is obvious, but sometimes get forgotten when times are hectic.
I’ll post more on my moving binder this week. I need to stop talking about Washington and give my brain a rest.
Beauty Still Remains 
Ahhhh…the joy of moving! Feel it, yes I do. It is a daunting task and in such short notice, you will be fine. Love the lists and checklists. militaryonesource.com plan my move is great…right? Do remember to give yourself a treat, some time to yourself to decompress…you deserve it.
I haven’t even looked at militaryonesource.com. I didn’t even think about it. I will check that out right now!!!
The moving binder is such a good idea. I’m not that organized, so I probably would not use it. I am a b+ person so I would not totally unorganized, just a little bit. 🙂
Thanks! We didn’t use anything on our last dity move and it made me way too stressed. This move is a lot bigger than our last one so I am trying to do anything to keep me sane.
We had an accordion folder, notebook and pens in ours. I wish I had been a little better about it but my organized chaos is actually where I work the best. Haha!